It has been two months since we have seen Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) shares trading on the Australian share market.
The ASX 200 travel stock has been out of action during this time after being informed by its auditors of potential adjustments to its accounts. These relate to the timing of the recognition of certain revenues and costs in the European region between FY 2025 and prior comparative reporting periods.
The corporate travel specialist was aiming to finalise the report in September but this then got pushed back until November.
While this is no doubt worrying for shareholders, they can at least take comfort in knowing that the company has started FY 2026 in a positive fashion.
Trading update
This morning, the ASX 200 travel stock released an update on its performance during the first quarter of FY 2026.
According to the release, revenue and other income increased 6% over the prior corresponding period to $180.2 million. Management notes that this was primarily driven by customer wins in FY 2025.
Thanks to ongoing cost efficiency improvements, Corporate Travel Management's earnings grew at a much quicker rate. The company advised that its EBITDA margin expanded 4 percentage points to 23%, which has led to its underlying EBITDA increasing 29% over the prior corresponding period to $40.9 million.
Management revealed that a focus on automation and artificial intelligence (AI) has played a role in its cost reductions. It said:
EBITDA increased in all regions versus the prior corresponding period with Europe recording the strongest growth. This was primarily driven by customer wins in FY25 and ongoing cost efficiency improvements. As a result, global revenues have increased by 6% and EBITDA has increased by 29% vs the p.c.p.. Costs have remained largely steady by leveraging scale, automation and AI.
It also highlights that this means it is tracking ahead of its five-year strategic plan. The company adds:
Overall, the incremental revenue to EBITDA metric is tracking ahead of expectations set in our five-year strategic plan. The business has a seasonal EBITDA skew to the second half of the financial year, with 1Q historically being the slowest quarter.
FY26: $0.43bn @ 30 September vs $1.1bn FY26 full year forecast, as previously outlined in our five year strategic plan.
At the end of the period, the ASX 200 travel stock's cash balance was up by $76.1 million to $168 million. This lifted its total available liquidity to $318 million.
